by WHAM

November 12, 2025

Rochester, N.Y. — A plea for the Monroe County budget to include investments into child care assistance took place at the Monroe County Legislature meeting Wednesday evening.

Parents and advocates from The Children’s Agenda argue that the county has historically excelled in enrolling families in its child care assistance program and fully utilizing state and federal funds, outperforming most other counties in the state.

The program supports lower-income households by covering child care costs. However, advocates warn that enrollment could close in 2026 if the county does not prioritize funding.

“I know there’s numerous parents here today, they want to work but they can’t work because they have to have trusted daycare and then, when they get the daycare, they gotta take so much out of their paycheck to pay the daycare worker and then come to find out, the county is not going to cover it,” said Diane Tanner. “Establish that program. Put the funds – you put funds everywhere else. Adopt a two- year continuous eligibility. They go to work one year then next year don’t know if they’ll have daycare or not.”

Currently, Monroe County’s child care assistance subsidies are available to families with a gross income less than 85% of the state median income for their household size.

Original story here: https://13wham.com/news/local/parents-urge-monroe-county-to-prioritize-child-care-in-budget